QWhat happened to Mark White?
AWhen Paul is just about to give up hope, Brenner says they saved another hostage named Mark White who is now home. At the end, however, Brenner digs up White and not Paul, so the question remains as to what really happened to Mark White. Three possibilities have been offered: (1) Brenner was telling the truth, (2) White was also kidnapped in Iraq in a similar situation just weeks before, and it was he who was saved, or (3) Brenner was lying about saving White in an attempt to give Paul hope. The movie itself gives little reason to believe one scenario over the other, however most viewers conclude that (3) is most probable.
QHow long could someone buried in a coffin remain alive until the oxygen ran out?
AMost estimates range from 60-90 minutes without an air source, longer if there is a source of airflow. Paul survived about 90 minutes in the coffin. He also panicked, breathed heavily, coughed, puked, talked on the phone, and burned a cigarette lighter, which would use up significantly more oxygen than just controlled breathing, so we're to assume that he still had a little air left even at the end, possibly from the snake hole. Other considerations to take into account include: (1) Paul was buried in sand, which is more porous than dirt, (2) the depth at which Paul was buried (Brennan estimates 2-3 feet or he wouldn't be able to hear the call to prayer or get cell reception), and (3) the size of the box was much larger than a normal coffin. However, the problem of survival is compounded by the fact that, while the victim is breathing in oxygen, s/he is also breathing out carbon dioxide. Poisoning due to excess CO2 in the environment can result in loss of consciousness and convulsions before the oxygen ever runs out. The TV show 'MythBusters: Hammer Bridge Drop/Buried Alive/Cola (#1.8) tested the myth to see if someone could survive being buried alive for two hours but discovered that a bigger problem was that the coffin began to bend under the weight of the earth used to cover it, and the experiment had to be aborted.
QDoes the movie leave the coffin?
ANo. Paul occasionally receives images and videos from his captors from unknown locations. He also hallucinates seeing the coffin lid opening at one point, though nothing is shown but a bright light. There are no flashbacks or cutaways showing anything other than what's happening inside the box.
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